20 pounds

*Warning-this might be a little whiny and self indulgent, so read on at your own risk.

OK, I'm putting it out there. I'm trying to lose this last 20 pounds that won't budge. This baby weight is happy and comfortable and not wanting to go anywhere. I'm not one of those people who have the pounds melt off after having a baby, I have to seriously work my booty off with diet and exercise. The last couple of weeks I've been able to make a few pounds go away and stay away, but I'm still a far cry from my goal weight. I'm not even trying to get down to what I weighed before I was pregnant, just in the ball park. After I had Kendle, it took me almost two years to lose most of the weight ( I guess that's what happens when you gain almost sixty pounds), but I remember I had to really shock my body into losing weight. I jump started the process by going on a no-carb diet for a little while, and then gradually adding a few carbs back in. I looked at some pictures of myself from over the weekend, and had one of those "aha" moments. I asked my husband "is that what I really look like?". Of course he says all of the nice husband things, like you look great, and all of that, but it was then that I realized that I'm not going to sit around and complain about it anymore and starting this week I'm going to put myself in weight loss mode for real. I usually run or walk on the treadmill a couple of times a week, but I'm going to really push myself this week to run hard and do all of the other extras (crunches, resistance bands, lunges, stretching).

*Here is where the whiny self-indulgent part really kicks in. Just warning you.

I think the hardest thing for me, is that my whole life I've always been thin and not had to worry about my weight. This is not an asset to me because I can trick myself into thinking that I can still eat whatever I want and burn it off. Boy how the metabolism gods are laughing at me now.

I know a lot of you can relate to that, and I realize that it's not a diet, it's a life style change that works in the long run. Here are some things that sabotage my weight loss:

-I love to bake. AND I feel like a bad mom if I don't make cookies or a little treat for my family at least once a week.

-This time of year our family is on the go constantly, and it is way easier to eat junk or grab some fast food, than pack healthy food or eat before we go. (I know, excuses, excuses)

-My family loves to snack. If we go to my parents house they always have tons of snacks and goodies and I feel like I have a free pass or something to eat whatever I want because I'm at their house. I know it doesn't make sense, but in my delusioned state of snacking, I can convince myself that whatever I eat there will not count in the weight department.

Why did I write this post? I'm embarrassing myself into accountability I guess you could say. Next time you see me, I want you to ask me how my weight loss and exercise program are going.

Also, if anyone has any tasty low-carb, low-fat recipes you'd love to share, don't be afraid to send them my way. You can e-mail them to me if you'd like. If I get quite a few recipes, I'll post them on my blog for everyone to share.